Global spread of mad cow disease likely

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A group of independent scientists, advising the European Union, claim that mad cow disease has likely spread more widely across the globe than commonly admitted and do not rule out infection in Australia.

According to this week's New Scientist, the scientists say that the officially BSE-free countries: Germany, Italy and Spain, are "likely to be infected". And infection "is unlikely but cannot be excluded" in six more European countries, as well as Canada, Australia and the US.

Their claims are based on a two year study focussing on the factors affecting the spread of BSE including the trade of cattle, meat and bone meal from Britain and other BSE-infected countries. The study also looked at the import controls in various countries to assess the likely risk that infection could have spread.

While the Commission banned feeding cattle to cattle in 1994, the report says that infection would have continued to circulate through infected cattle remains contaminating feed mills, and that insufficient pressure-cooking of feed would increase the risk.

The independent report says that "passive" surveillance techniques, which rely on farmers reporting sick animals may entirely miss small numbers of cases. Active surveillance suggests that passive monitoring only detects a third of such cases.

The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service was unable to comment on the report at this stage.